Gray area (8200)

The work consists of an architectural model of an Israeli Defense Force’s intelligence base responsible for collecting signal intelligence, located in the heart of the country. Through headphones, the viewer listens to conversations in Arabic. These are personal conversations I’ve had, relating to the project in various ways, that were recorded, edited, translated to Arabic and then re-recorded with Arab actors. The spectator is taking the position of power, looming over the miniature base in a dark room, while eavesdropping on so-called ‘classified information’ in a language that is not understood by the majority of Israelis. With the help of Hebrew subtitles, the content is revealed to be, as often it is, random conversations. The work questions the validity of monitoring an entire population and blurs the lines between “them” and “me”, the personal and the public, the victim and victimizer.